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Youth Sports Is About Far More than Wins and Losses

I recently received an e-mail from a hockey parent in Vermont that was so powerful, I wanted to share it:  

Hi Hal

An email from a hockey parent and coach puts winning versus having fun in its proper perspective.

Stiffening Penalties For Violent Hits By Minnesota Hockey League Important Step In Improving Player Safety

 

This past weekend, the MInnesota State High School League took an unprecedented step of changing the rules mid-season, by stiffening the penalties on three of the most violent and dangerous infractions in hockey: checking from behind, boarding and contact to the head will now result in an automatic five-minute "major" against the offending player resulting in ejection and forcing his team to play short-handed for five minutes, regardless of how many times it is scored upon during the ensuing power play. 

By stiffening the rules against dangerous play in ice hockey and giving referees less discretion in calling penalties, the Minnesota State High School League has taken an important first step to reduce the number of catastrophic injuries in the sport.

Jabs #13: Making Youth Hockey Safer In Wake of Jablonski Tragedy

 

While Jablonski's injury was, of course, his parent's worst nightmare, and will change his life forever, such injuries are fortunately quite rare in ice hockey but the publicity, in this instance, has prompted calls for the leaders of youth and high school hockey in Minnesota to demand stricter rule enforcement, better coaching, and more severe penalties for dangerous and illegal "hits" that lead to hockey being a sport with one of the highest rates of concussion.

Longtime Minnesota ice hockey coach Hal Tearse talks about how the catastrophic injury suffered by high school hockey player Jack "Jabs" Jablonski and suggests ways to make the sport safer.

What Life Lessons To Teach Is Coach's Choice

There are tens of thousands of well-meaning coaches in youth and high school athletics/activites across this nation. Being placed in a position of influence and power over young people, however, requires - to borrow from the Hippocratic oath - that coaches first do no harm, and hopefully do some good. Unfortunately, the sad fact is that many will be remembered by their players for all the wrong reasons.

Being placed in a position of influence and power over young people
requires - to borrow from the Hippocratic oath - that coaches first do
no harm, and hopefully do some good. Whether to teach positive or negative life lessons is the coach's choice.

Goal of Coaching: Develop Winners in Sports and Life

During the off season local associations are faced with assigning coaches to the teams for the up coming year. Coaching committees and ultimately youth hockey boards will approve the coaches for the coming year. In many programs getting enough qualified coaches is a problem. Some programs start fresh each year and some leave coaches in place for many years. In short there is lots of attention and even drama about who is going to coach the teams, especially A teams. What is missing is actually determining how qualified the coaches are and an on going coach development program. It seems as the season begins teams and coaches are on their own.

Coaches are the most important and powerful individuals in any youth sports
organization. Coaches determine the quality of experience that players
have and can have a significant impact on the lives of their players.

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

I was visiting recently with a friend who was the assistant coach on a local high school team the past several years. The head coach had been under great pressure from the parents of the players for many years, but it had intensified the past year.

He told me that no matter the quality of the coach, nobody should go through what the head coach had to endure with the result that, after 9 years, the head coach was taking a leave of abscense for a year. I agreed with him, but, as I thought more, I realized that much of the blame really fell on the coach. He is not a good communicator and manager of people. He is passionate about the sport, studies the game like no other coach, but yet he failed to sell his vision and program to the parents and players.

Coaching Great Athletes

Today I got a call from Adam. He is a former bantam hockey player who recently graduated from Ohio State, where he played baseball. He is now headed to rookie camp for the Milwaukee Brewers. I thought back to his bantam hockey team and realized that, besides Adam, two others currently play in the NFL, one in the NHL and four more are currently or will be playing professional hockey.

Wow, what a crew! One half of the bantam team ended up playing professionally in three dfferent sports. Now how often does that happen? What a thrill to have coached those young men and their teammates. It simply shows that good athletes can play many sports and, to get to the top, one needs to be a good athlete.

Relentless Pursuit of Excellence

USA Hockey continues to expand their American Development Model (ADM) that is intended to provide youth players a better quality of experience in the game, higher skill levels, and a safer environment that will attract and retain more players. The model is tested in other parts of the world, makes lots of sense for kids, and it has the support from many disciplines in the medical field. Hockey associations and clubs around the country are quickly adopting the concepts and ideas although some are fearful of the changes that are required. The interesting part of all of this is that many of these ideas have been around for a long time and only now are they organized into a coherent long term development program for youth players and older athletes.

The Times They are A changing

As Bob Dylan is often quoted," The Times they are a changing", is especially true in youth ice hockey across the world. 

Dad: You Love Hockey More than I Do! Don't Ruin It For Me!

The district playoffs are starting soon and for most teams the final periods are about to be played. The headline comments above were actually said by a son to his father/coach. It is interesting that a fifteen year old player is able to succinctly articulate his feelings and his anguish. In twelve words he expressed what so many have written in these pages and in youth sports publications for years.

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